A White Christmas
by xx-InvaderSamm-xx
Summary: Lucy has her presents to give everyone on Christmas Eve, save for one Ice-Mage. She feels extremely guilty for not getting him anything, but when the tables turn, she gives him the only thing he's wanted in a long time. GraLu, one-shot.


****A/N; **My first GraLu. I hope you like it. Take note that this site is called FanFiction for a reason. I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima-sama has that glory. However, comments and reviews are greatly appreciated.

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Lucy sat at her writing desk, her face down on the palm of one hand as the other held her pen. It wasn't unusual for someone to walk in and see this rather peaceful scene, though today, the area around her was cluttered with crumpled up paper. She was working on the newest chapter in her novel, and this time she got relatively far without interruption. Natsu, Gray, Erza, nor Happy had stepped foot in her house yet, which gave her more concentration on the chapters. Tomorrow was December 25th, otherwise known more popularly as Christmas.

She already gave Levy a chapter this month, but for Christmas she was going to give her at least three more. This was the third extra chapter she was working on, and the main character kept getting stuck somehow. Either she wouldn't think of anything past it, or the situation was simply too hard for the character to get out of alone. However, with her pen working as hard as her brain, it was narrowing down the situations the character could possibly get into.

This specific route seemed to be working for Lucy. Within the next two minutes, she completed the rather lengthy chapter. A huff of air came from her as she leaned back in her chair with a wide grin.** "Finally."** Lucy reached over to the upper right hand corner for her, surprisingly, still steaming cup of hot cocoa. Snow was falling gently to the blanket of white on the ground just out the window, and holiday music was playing softly in the background. It seemed all so perfect.

Lucy put the three finished chapters in a shallow box and shut it carefully. The box was the perfect size for the papers, and someone could easily think it was a book in the box, which made the contents even more of a surprise for her friend. The blond then jogged swiftly to her kitchen, grabbing a wide red ribbon, and came back to the box. After tying the ribbon around the box, and tying the ends together in an ornate bow, she placed it near the door.

That box only added to the pile of boxes she already had wrapped. Each with a different color ribbon so she could tell them apart. The one for Erza was a strawberry cake that she picked up earlier that day, topped off in a box with red swords and snowflakes and a silver bow. The one for Natsu was a large scale painting of a red dragon. The sheer size of it could easily cover her wall. This was painted by Reedus, as a request from Lucy. The painting was in an equally-large box decorated with a flame pattern and a large orange bow. Happy's was simple, five fresh fish- all picked up earlier that day- and in a simple blue box with a blue ribbon. Levy's box was silver, the same color of the iron that her crush used, with a red ribbon.

All that was left was the one that would be hardest to please. Gray. Lucy has yet to get the ice mage anything, and she didn't even have a clue what to get him. Getting him a shirt was like getting a dictionary for Natsu. It just wasn't going to be used. He wasn't one to strut jewelry around if it didn't have a meaning behind it. Food was something he took as an every-day thing, and she didn't think that a food item would be special enough for him. She slumped in her writing chair and huffed. Money wasn't an issue with him, either.

After several long minutes of thinking, she decided she'd say his was being ordered from somewhere farther away, and simply get something later. Lucy opened the door and hoisted up the pile of presents, leaving her house for the guild. Tomorrow, the people she wanted to give the gifts to wouldn't be at the guild, so she had to give them their presents today. After shutting and locking her house, she carefully balanced the presents and walked through the snow that went up to her ankles.

Almost as if on que, the door was opened by Gray attempting to leave the guild right when she needed to get in. He gentlemanly held the door open for her, and even helped her bring in the gifts. As predicted, those that she got gifts for swarmed her and she couldn't help but giggle. **"Hold on, guys. I want to see your faces individually."**

**"Luce! Just give them to us already!"** Whined an overly excited Natsu.

**"Aye! I want to see Lucy's presents!"** Happy chimed in.

Lucy giggled at this and handed Happy his gift first. **"Okay, Happy first then."** Happy was as happy as his name suggested and grabbed the blue box handed to him greedily. He flew up and in circles, cheering about how he got a present. The cat pulled on the ribbon and took the top off of the box and cheered loudly.

**"Lucy got me fish! Five fish!"** The exceed sat the box carefully down on the table nearest them- since they were still standing in the center of the room- and flew quickly at Lucy, tackling her down with an excited hug.** "Thank you Lucy!"** He sniffed back tears of happiness. **"I take back everything bad I've ever said to you!"**

Lucy simply smiled at the exceed and patted his head. **"You're welcome."** Happy ran off to his box of fish, and Erza poked her in the arm nervously.

**"U-Uhm.. I-Is the box with the swords.. F-For me?"**

It was odd to hear her stutter at all, but the blond knew it was out of shy excitement. She chuckled at her and nodded. The requip mage eagerly picked up the box and was about to shake it violently when Lucy stopped her.

**"Don't shake it!"**

**"Oh..."** Erza said. Instead she settled on narrowing her eyes at the box. She was careful with the ribbon and careful not to harm the box too much, making it obvious that she enjoyed Lucy's choice of packaging. When the lid of the box came off, the red head peered into the box cautiously. With the slightest sight of the cake, she instantly pulled the blond into a suffocating hug, and ran off with the cake without another word.

Lucy snickered and looked at Natsu, who was obviously getting jealous and impatient. **"The big one is yours."** She stated simply.

**"Yeah! Lucy likes me most, so she got me the best and biggest!"** Natsu cheered.

**"Yeah right, flame-brain. She was probably getting a big one to compare it to the size of your head."** Gray said slyly. He peered at Lucy, which made her blush and look away quickly.

She'd never fully admit it, but she had a huge crush on the ice mage. To brush off her blushing as something normal, she cleared her throat and stated simply, **"Gray. Your clothes."**

The mage looked down at himself to find that he was standing in only his boxers.** "Gaah! When did this happen!"** He quickly ran off to find his missing articles of clothing. The blond female left there was almost positive there was a faint amount of pink dusting on his cheeks as he ran off.

While she had been preoccupied with Gray, Natsu had torn through the wrapping paper and was now cheering at the painting. He hugged Lucy tightly, and when he pulled back he smiled at her brightly.

**"You always know what I'd like most, Luce! I love it!"**

**"Thanks. I only had the idea, though. You should really thank Reedus."** Lucy stated, pointing at the artsy mage who now had a light blush covering his cheeks.

**"Reedus, you're the absolute best!"** Natsu happily proclaimed as he threw his fist into the air, jumping for joy. The mentioned mage simply nodded and went back to painting something.

Lucy had one box left, and the one who was to receive it was sitting at a table with the rest of team Shadowgear having a nice chat. Looking around, she found no trace of Gray and sighed. At least she didn't have to deal with that guilt at this moment. Shaking the thought off, she strode over to the bluenette with the box behind her back.

**"Levy-chan!"** Lucy said poking her petite friend in the shoulder.

**"Ah! Lu-chan!"** Levy proclaimed, turning around to give the bustier of the two a tight embrace.

**"Merry Christmas!"**Lucy said, handing her friend the box. Levy's face instantly lit up with excitement, and she carefully pulled the bow off.

**"What book is it?"** Levy said, barely containing herself as she attempted not to pry the lid off and simply chuck it somewhere. As her eyes fell on the papers before her, the bluenette squealed and hugged her friend tightly. Though the embrace didn't last long, since she went down to pick the papers up. Since there was quite a few in the stack, she thumbed through them silently as she counted the chapters. Her eyes widened as she counted three.

**"Lu-chan! You wrote three, just for me?"** After Lucy nodded with a smile, Levy's eyes were graced with tears of joy and gratitude.** "Lu-chan.."** They enjoyed their third hug within the last three minutes and the blond smiled.

**"I have to be off. I have to go get Gray's present."** Levy nodded, looking back to the papers and instantly going to reading.

Lucy left the guild and walked alone in the snow to the city. There were very few stores open, and only one that wasn't associated with food. There were even fewer people out at this time of day. The sun was on the horizon, threatening to go down and leave her in darkness. Lucy found her search in vain and made it to a bridge in the city. Underneath her, waters were flowing at a slow pace from the ice clumps found within the blue liquids.

It was a serene and peaceful scene. The entire town covered in more than a blanket of snow, and the white flakes were still falling. The sun was only showing faint remnants of it's rays, making the starry sky a velvet hue of violet. The moment was gorgeous, and the only person who was there to see it was the blond that was leaning on the edge of the bridge.

Her blond hair was left down, and had a cute holly decoration on the top right of her locks. She was wearing a long-sleeved red shirt with white fur around every hem, and a tight skirt to match it. Her boots were red as well, and even had the same white fur on the inside and on the top, letting two furry balls dangle on the outer side of either boot. Her neck was covered by a cute white scarf that has a picture of holly on the end that rested on her left shoulder.

This scene made her think even more of Gray Fullbuster. Thankfully she didn't get him anything, or she'd have to face Juvia's wrath, but at the same time, she felt very guilty about it. A faint blush covered her face as her eyes grew watery. She's liked him since sometime in her first days in Fairy Tail, and she's never had the stomach to tell him. This was the time to get him something, maybe even confess to him, but that chance was now over. The sun was setting on Christmas Eve, and no store in town would be open on Christmas day. She failed to get him anything.

Her heart felt like it was twisted and it bent over. It was a pain in her chest that she wanted to go away. Without noticing it, she had let three tears slip down her cheek, and she only noticed when a cool breeze came in and made their trails seem extremely cold.

**"If you stay out here too long, you'll get sick."** The familiar voice sounded like it was right in her ear. Lucy's mind instantly went blank and her heart skipped several beats. She forgot to wipe her face before she turned to the raven-haired ice mage who was leaning on the bridge next to her.

**"Wh-When did you get there?"** Lucy asked, mentally cursing herself for stuttering. She cursed herself even more when she felt a familiar heat rising to her cheeks.

**"I've been here for at least a minute now, just kinda waiting on you to notice."** He turned to her, looking directly into her chocolate brown eyes. **"You seemed lost in thought."** His hand lifted to her face and his calloused thumb ran over her cheek, wiping away the trail of wetness the tears left behind.

The action sent her heart to her throat, straight down to her stomach, and back. Her face flushed even more and she felt suffocated. The purple-dark blue sky was casting the most perfect light on him, making his skin glow with it's own radiance. He smiled at her with a sincere smile that hit her heart again, and she found herself at a loss for words.

**"You look gorgeous tonight."** He said, a faint pink spreading across his cheeks as well.

**"I-I.."** Lucy tried to force herself to apologize, but she couldn't do it when she was trapped in the trance his eyes put her in. Her eyes watered up instantly and she forced her gaze down to the ground as the tears fell.** "I'm so sorry."**

**"For what? Hey, don't cry.."** Gray said, putting his arms around her in a surprisingly warm embrace. Her face was brought to his chest as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

**"I-I didn't get you anything... I-I couldn't think.. I didn't kn-know what to get.. I-"** She was cut off by her own sob, choking through her words. The blond felt his hand rub her back gently, and felt the other pull from around her.

**"It's okay, Lucy. It's not the end of the world."** Gray cooed, and Lucy lost where his hand could have gone. It wasn't anywhere near her, and that she was sure of.

**"B-But... I wanted.."** Lucy tried to force it out, but she couldn't. She didn't even know where that statement was going, but she didn't like the possibilities it brought. I wanted to confess? I wanted to tell you how I feel? I wanted to get you something because I secretly love you? She thought those statements were out of the question.

Gray pulled her away from him and he gently wiped her tears with his caring yet calloused hand. He smiled and chuckled slightly at the blond's worrying.** "I don't need a present Lucy.. I need.."** His words trailed off and his cheeks got an uncharacteristic shade of red. He looked away quickly and pulled the missing hand out of his pocket.

**"I-I.. You're the only present I want."** Gray finally choked out, his face fully red. Lucy felt her blush deepen as her eyes widened in disbelief. She was almost sure he had either lost it or was playing some cruel joke on her when she noticed what he was doing. He had his hand held out, a little box with a pink bow on it in his palm.

**"Gray.."** Lucy almost whispered. She cautiously and gently took the box from his hand and flipped it open. Inside the box was a dazzling necklace. It was simple and had four diamonds on either side of an aquamarine gem that was probably the size of a dime. It took her breath away.

**"Lucy, I see you every day, and everyday this feeling gets worse. My heart skips when I'm around you and my world stops just to hear you speak. Seeing you cry hurts me more than anything.."** His mouth twitched upward slightly. **"It hurts worse to know that you were crying over me, but at the same time it makes me happy to know that you were worrying about my gift."**

Lucy was crying again, but this time it was out of happiness, which Gray seemed okay with. He was looking at her with determination in his eyes, and a light pink spreading steadily over his cheeks.

**"I've liked you for the longest time, and I know for a fact that I love you. I can't deny that any longer."** He took a deep breath. **"I know you probably don't like me, and you can deny me all you want, but I'll always protect you. I'll wait for as long as I have to for you, but I want to know one thing."** Gray took her hand that wasn't holding the gift and knelt down before her.

He held his right hand over his heart and kept it there while his left hand brought her delicate hand to his lips in a light kiss.** "Miss Lucy Heartfilia. I would like one thing for Christmas. I would like the opportunity to be your knight in shining armor. I want at least one chance to show you exactly how much I love you. For Christmas, would you give me the chance I seek, and become my girlfriend?"**

Gray watched Lucy with worried eyes. He never once moved his right hand from over his heart, and his steady determined gaze never once wavered. Just when Lucy thought she couldn't possibly get happier, he made her heart explode and happiness to simply rain down and drench her. Unable to speak through the tears, Lucy nodded vigorously and even managed to choke out a whispered "yes".

The ice-mage stood, and in one swift movement, picked her up in an embrace by her waist. He spun her around gracefully and when her feet connected with the snow-covered ground, his lips connected with hers. His lips weren't anything she'd imagined, but they were simply more. They were firey with burning passion and loving, yet gentle and careful at the same time. To put it simply, his lips were every bit of bliss she's ever sought out.

As their lips parted, Lucy realized she was clutching him for dear life with one hand, and her present from him with the other. He smirked and plucked the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck gently.

**"Let's get you home before you get sick, okay?"**

**"On one condition."** Lucy stated boldly. Gray raised an eyebrow at her abrupt statement.** "Stay the night. Don't leave me alone.. And spend tomorrow with me."**

Gray chuckled and picked her up happily. **"That was more like three, but that's something I can happily agree to."**


End file.
